Wayfarer's

Chapter 4

Tauriel quickly fitted a arrow into her bow, adjusting her grip accordingly. With one swift movement, she fell to one knee at the mouth of the cave, propping herself to aim correctly.

Malgel and Breen could be seen far off, strolling idly to the cave entrance. However, her relief at seeing the two quickly vanished. Behind them, ran a dozen or more people. Unknown people. The enemies.

Zaren stepped hurriedly out of the mouth and quickly straightened, a air of leadership in his posture.

"Legolas, Tauriel, Shay. I need to you be our archers. Thranduil and I, will take them head on. We need to get Breen and Malgel to safety, they have the stone, I am sure of it." Zaren unsheathed his old sword from its worn sheath, and raised it. It was a warning. The former elf King stepped up beside him.

Valar please make this not be in vain, we need that stone more than anything. Zaren prayed and bit down on the inside of his cheek, his hand gripping the leather hilt of his sword tightly. It made the old, dry leather creak loudly.

The lot of them quickly obeyed their leader, wordlessly carrying out their leaders orders. Shay and Legolas quickly took cover, and readied their weapons.

"Twelves of them to five of us...." The blonde haired man deftly tested the weight of his sword, watching the group grow closer.

"Who is that guy? His armor is a disgrace..." Shay murmured with a small smirk, and checked his bolts to make sure they were secure.

"Easterlings." The young prince snarled as the group came into view. He pulled his bow into a half draw.

Zaren breathed a soft sigh, letting out all his fear and stress as he lifted his blade, striding out with confidence. Thranduil nodded and ran after him.

The two warriors were a sight to see. They were worn down from the years but a scary sight. Their postures shown confidence, and their eyes shown bloodlust. The two bolted past Malgel and Breen, both charging with battle cries.

Time seemed to slow as the two ran up to the enemy, the cries of the easterlings growing almost silent. Zaren could hear his soft heartbeat thumping in his ears as they ran.

Three men dropped as the three archers did their work. Zaren's smaller form was pushed back as his sword collided with the leader of the easterling groups own weapon. The sound of the metal echoed sharply in his ears and he immediately pulled away, ducking away from the large man's second blow.

The Easterling roared at the smaller blonde man, and quickly evaded his blows.

Thinking quickly, Zaren slid under the man's legs, and sluggishly stood to his feet, kicking the back of the man's knees in. It sent the Easterling sprawling to the floor. He heard the thwak, and Zaren panted heavily, exhausted by the battle in front of him. Why was be so tired?

The sandy haired warrior heard another loud war cry, and despite his random state of exhaustion, jumped aside, barely missing the large two edged sword. He barely felt the metal scrape the skin on his forearm. Zaren hissed in pain, and he swung his own body to one side, and thrusting his sword with what strength he had left. The blow landed right into the man's gut.

The blonde man grunted, pulling the sword free from the other mans flesh, warm blood spraying everywhere.

By the time he finished off the one Easterling, the leader had already gotten to his feet and charged at the smaller man. Zaren swallowed down a lump in his throat as he lifted his blade, just in time to block the giants blow. The force made him stagger. Luckily -or what he thought was luck- his heels caught on the dirt, but before he knew it, he was pushed down by a stronger force. Right in the jaw. He gasped as the air was knocked from his lungs, and his sword flew from his grasp. It clattered dully on the dirt pack floor.

The Easterling began to raise his sword, a sickly grin on his dark features. It was a death blow. But the smile quickly faded, and his sword fell from his hands. The burly creature tumbled to the side, dead, with a black feathered arrow sticking out from the back of his head.

Shay stood above him and offered his hand to help him up.

That's new... Zaren thought as he gratefully took Shay's hand.

"You just couldn't help yourself but try to die?" Shay grumbled as he turned around and unsheathed his small dagger. The man then went around and stabbed each man he came across, making sure they were dead.

Zaren let a small smile ride up his exhausted features as he watched the young warrior.

"Thank you, Shay. I would have lost my life if it wasn't for you." Zaren said, inclining his head with gratitude.

"Just shut up and don't mention it." Shay snapped moodily back.

Zaren frowned once more as he rubbed his bloodied arm, and turned away, taking a head count.

"One.... Three.... Five.... Seven." He mumbled under his breath and smiled internally. We are okay, we made it through. Zaren thought with relief as he staggered uneasily forward, his vision fading. Dizziness overcame him, but then slowly faded. Shaking his head quickly, he grabbed the legs of one man and began piling them up to burn.

Legolas walked up beside him and laid a gentle hand against his shoulder.

"They have the second gem... I think you should go to them. I can handle the bodies." The prince said with a reassuring smile, and Zaren straightened once more, becoming dizzy again, but he hid it well.

"Aye... I guess you're correct. Just remember to burn them..." Zaren replied as he began to walk back to the cave. Now they were one step closer, but also one step backwards.

The enemy surely knew where they were, which meant they would need to move. They thought they would be safe here, but it was foolish to think that. Especially at the time they were now in, nowhere was safe anymore. Zaren rubbed his temples, and he moved up the rocks towards the mouth of the cave. It was
where he could hear the soft chattering of his friends.

A/N: So.... Yeah... No one died! Yay! But! But! But! I hope you guys enjoyed this chappie. It will start getting less boring from here. I promise! :P